ordinary.
She hopped off her perch on the desk and crossed the floor to him with her hand extended. Curvy hips swayed. Perky breasts poked out at him. She was tall, slim and so exquisitely female that all his male hormones were buzzing.
‘Pleased to meet you.’ Her smile was entrancing. ‘Okay if I call you Michael?’
‘Delighted.’ He took her hand and held on to it, the soft warmth of it making his skin tingle with excitement at this first physical contact.
He suddenly registered movement at his side, reminding him he’d just come out of a serious business meeting with his brother. Harry was stepping up, expecting an introduction. Was he feeling the same impact, wanting Lucy’s attention turned to him, centred on him? Michael fiercely hoped not. He didn’t want to fight his brother over a woman, but he would with this one. A highly primitive sense of possession was swirling through his gut.
His eyes telegraphed hard warning-off signals at Harry as he turned to make the introduction. This was no-go territory. Don’t make a contest of it. They had always respected each other’s interest in their targeted women, but Lucy had to be a magnet for any man. Even as he said, ‘This is my brother, Harry,’ Michael willed him to accept he had first claim.
His heart swelled with satisfaction when Lucy left her hand in his grasp and simply raised her other hand in a blithe greeting, tossing a ‘Hi, Harry!’ at his brother in a kind of bubbly dismissal.
‘Charmed,’ Harry purred at her.
The flirtatious tone didn’t raise so much as a flicker of response. Her gaze instantly connected to Michael’s again, the warm brown eyes appealing for understanding and, to his mind, much more than that to come from him. He felt her reaching out, wondering, wanting....
‘I don’t know if you know, but it’s Ellie’s birthday today,’ she said, ‘and I thought I’d treat her to a really nice lunch somewhere. You won’t mind if I take her off and she’s a bit late back, will you, Michael?’
Lunch... yes, he thought exultantly. He couldn’t wait to have more of this enchanting woman.
‘Actually, I’d decided to do the same myself,’ he quickly informed her. ‘Lunch at the Mariners Bar.’
‘Oh, wow! The Mariners Bar!’ Her eyes sparkled with golden lights. ‘What a lovely boss you are to take Ellie there!’
‘Why don’t you join us? It will be a better celebration of her birthday if you do.’
‘I’ll come, as well. Make a party of it,’ Harry put in, instantly supporting the idea.
Four was better than three, Michael decided. Harry had to know now that Lucy wasn’t interested in him, and he could entertain Elizabeth, which took the onus of doing that off him.
‘I only booked a table for two,’ his PA inserted, pulling them back to arrangements already made.
‘No problem. I’m sure the maître d’ will make room for us,’ he stated, oozing confidence as he smiled at Lucy. ‘We’d be delighted to have the pleasure of your company.’
Her smile of delight was turned to her sister. ‘Well, a foursome should be more fun, don’t you think, Ellie?’
There was a touch of irony in Elizabeth’s reply. ‘Certainly no awkward silences with you, Lucy.’
She laughed, seeming to sprinkle sunshine at everyone as she happily declared, ‘That’s settled then. Thank you for asking me, Michael. And it’s good of you to join in the party, too, Harry.’
Michael wasn’t interested in having a party.
What Harry called his tunnel vision—usually applied only to his work on the franchises—had kicked in with a vengeance on Lucy Flippence. He saw no one but her. His entire focus, physical and mental, was on her. He wanted her completely to himself.
It didn’t occur to him that it might not be a good idea to bed his PA’s sister.
All he could think of was how to get her there as fast as he could.
CHAPTER THREE
L UCY COULDN ’ T BELIEVE her luck. The prince liked her, wanted to be with her.
She hopped off her perch on the desk and crossed the floor to him with her hand extended. Curvy hips swayed. Perky breasts poked out at him. She was tall, slim and so exquisitely female that all his male hormones were buzzing.
‘Pleased to meet you.’ Her smile was entrancing. ‘Okay if I call you Michael?’
‘Delighted.’ He took her hand and held on to it, the soft warmth of it making his skin tingle with excitement at this first physical contact.
He suddenly registered movement at his side, reminding him he’d just come out of a serious business meeting with his brother. Harry was stepping up, expecting an introduction. Was he feeling the same impact, wanting Lucy’s attention turned to him, centred on him? Michael fiercely hoped not. He didn’t want to fight his brother over a woman, but he would with this one. A highly primitive sense of possession was swirling through his gut.
His eyes telegraphed hard warning-off signals at Harry as he turned to make the introduction. This was no-go territory. Don’t make a contest of it. They had always respected each other’s interest in their targeted women, but Lucy had to be a magnet for any man. Even as he said, ‘This is my brother, Harry,’ Michael willed him to accept he had first claim.
His heart swelled with satisfaction when Lucy left her hand in his grasp and simply raised her other hand in a blithe greeting, tossing a ‘Hi, Harry!’ at his brother in a kind of bubbly dismissal.
‘Charmed,’ Harry purred at her.
The flirtatious tone didn’t raise so much as a flicker of response. Her gaze instantly connected to Michael’s again, the warm brown eyes appealing for understanding and, to his mind, much more than that to come from him. He felt her reaching out, wondering, wanting....
‘I don’t know if you know, but it’s Ellie’s birthday today,’ she said, ‘and I thought I’d treat her to a really nice lunch somewhere. You won’t mind if I take her off and she’s a bit late back, will you, Michael?’
Lunch... yes, he thought exultantly. He couldn’t wait to have more of this enchanting woman.
‘Actually, I’d decided to do the same myself,’ he quickly informed her. ‘Lunch at the Mariners Bar.’
‘Oh, wow! The Mariners Bar!’ Her eyes sparkled with golden lights. ‘What a lovely boss you are to take Ellie there!’
‘Why don’t you join us? It will be a better celebration of her birthday if you do.’
‘I’ll come, as well. Make a party of it,’ Harry put in, instantly supporting the idea.
Four was better than three, Michael decided. Harry had to know now that Lucy wasn’t interested in him, and he could entertain Elizabeth, which took the onus of doing that off him.
‘I only booked a table for two,’ his PA inserted, pulling them back to arrangements already made.
‘No problem. I’m sure the maître d’ will make room for us,’ he stated, oozing confidence as he smiled at Lucy. ‘We’d be delighted to have the pleasure of your company.’
Her smile of delight was turned to her sister. ‘Well, a foursome should be more fun, don’t you think, Ellie?’
There was a touch of irony in Elizabeth’s reply. ‘Certainly no awkward silences with you, Lucy.’
She laughed, seeming to sprinkle sunshine at everyone as she happily declared, ‘That’s settled then. Thank you for asking me, Michael. And it’s good of you to join in the party, too, Harry.’
Michael wasn’t interested in having a party.
What Harry called his tunnel vision—usually applied only to his work on the franchises—had kicked in with a vengeance on Lucy Flippence. He saw no one but her. His entire focus, physical and mental, was on her. He wanted her completely to himself.
It didn’t occur to him that it might not be a good idea to bed his PA’s sister.
All he could think of was how to get her there as fast as he could.
CHAPTER THREE
L UCY COULDN ’ T BELIEVE her luck. The prince liked her, wanted to be with her.
Similar Books
Wildalone
Krassi Zourkova
The Perfect Murder
Jack Hitt
The Last Time I Saw You
Eleanor Moran
Trials (Rock Bottom)
Sarah Biermann
What Could Possibly Go Wrong. . .
Jeremy Clarkson
Joe Hill
Wallace Stegner
Balls
Julian Tepper, Julian
The Lost
Caridad Piñeiro
A Bend in the River of Life
Budh Aditya Roy
